Clashing Fangs
by Major Mario
Summary: An ordinary assassination run in Bangkok turns into something more for Juri Han. A figure in a black cloak catches her eye, and Juri, not yet sated, moves to follow the red-haired man. A jaguar king will fall this day... or will he?
1. Round One

A resounding pop filled the air, produced by the sudden destruction of the Korean's gum bubble. She absentmindedly brought the remains back into her mouth and chewed lazily, her attention not on making bubbles or savoring the bland taste but on her purple fingernails. There were traces of blood beneath them, fresh from only a few minutes ago. She blinked at the sight, blowing yet another bubble as she looked down to her uncovered feet. It wasn't a surprise that there was more blood down there was well.

She could smell the smoke from nearby, one of the consequences of her recent actions. Sent to Thailand in the bustling capital city of Bagkok, Juri was tasked with finding three men. Whatever reasons for their notoriety were not of her concern. All she wanted was a chance to fight a new foe and watch him squirm as she explored all the possible ways to torture a human being before he died. She thought back to her targets as she looked at the source of the smoke.

The first one was simple enough, out in the open and completely vulnerable. She took her time with him, allowing him to scream out in pain. It was like music to her ears. At times the screams would dissolve into whimpers, but Juri would not stand for that. She poked and prodded at his figure, cutting into him with her kicks to start up that delectable bout of screaming again. A leg was broken and twisted, an arm was bent and mangled, and his face became unrecognizable. Drinking up his cries of anguish, she left him to bleed out alone in his apartment.

The second target was a runner. Just thinking about that one brought a smile to the Korean's face. She laughed at his plight, tripping him when she got close and attacking him when he failed to get up right away. It became a game of cat and mouse, whereas the flimsy man was the mouse and Juri was the tiger. Eventually she got bored of running around and dragged the man into an alley, angered that she had exhausted him with her game. She took out her frustrations on him, crushing his head against the concrete.

Finally, the third target. He was a hulk of a man, possibly a bouncer or bodyguard for some street gang. Juri had followed him through Bangkok's streets, twiddling her thumbs in anticipation of a turn into a back alley. Sadly, the man had kept away from any areas that were out of view from public eye. There were no rules that Juri had to abide by in her assassination mission, and public killings were somewhat recommended as statements. She learned from experience that crowds could scream and cry all they wanted, but sooner or later someone would step in and try to interrupt her playtime.

Stepping into a small convenience store, the man had unknowingly made it his tomb. Juri had become bored with following him around and decided to kill him right then and there. The store clerk could only watch in horror as the Korean came inside to ruin the establishment, kicking various items and shelves into disarray as she pursued her target. According to popular belief, the worst pain a human could endure was having their femur bone cracked in half. Juri wanted to see if that was true, so, she broke both bones in the man's body.

She had howled with sadistic laughter as the man convulsed with pain. His spasms brought joy to the Korean, who crouched down to watch as he pathetically tried to get back up. Seeing as the store clerk would try to intervene somehow, Juri turned her attention to him. Too bad he wasn't a fighter; he would have had some potential given his dodging capabilities. All she had to do was pin him down and ram a foot into his back to break his spine. By the time she was finished with him, her target had lapsed into unconsciousness.

Surveillance cameras were littered throughout the store, and they had obviously gotten an image of the taekwando fighter. She preferred to be known by only a handful of people, not the entire world. Activating her Feng Shui Engine, she built up enough of her awesome and terrible energy to do a little demolition work. Support columns were destroyed, merchandise was vaporized, and whatever twitching remains of the clerk and target were buried beneath the rubble.

Now, Juri sat on a rooftop as she looked at the smoldering ruins of the convenience store. Her efforts had drawn a crowd of onlookers who were staring slack-jawed at her work. Murmurs where on the winds, people claiming they saw something or someone. Some people crouched down at the rubble and tried to come up with reasons for this madness. Juri shook her head as she watched, sneering at their eagerness to examine death. The only news people cared for was bad news, and even something as small as this would be blown out of proportions.

She stood up and stretched, scratching the back of her head as she yawned. Her hands brushed against her two hair buns, fashioned to look like intimidating horns. The woman's outfit was provocative and fiercely designed, focused more on maneuverability and sexuality than modesty. A black and purple breastplate and a pair of off-white colored slacks covered her up, or just barely in the case of the former. Her slacks were cut through at the inner thighs to reveal her purple tights, and a black and purple belt hung lazily from her waist. She rubbed her purple gloved-hands together and turned to leave, finding nothing else to do.

Yet… something compelled Juri to look back down at the crowd.

Amongst all the boring and worthless citizens of Bangkok was a solitary figure. He stood out from the crowd with his fiery red hair, looking like an aerodynamic streak. Some kind of headband was around his forehead, and it had an extravagant clump of yellow fibers coming from the back. A black cloak with gold trim was draped around his body, a sign that the man had status. Well, he certainly looked like he had status, given that he was given a little more personal space than any of the other people in the crowd.

Juri tilted her head as she stared at the man from her elevated vantage point. He drew his cloak tighter to himself before glancing over his shoulder for a moment. His face held an expression of distaste, annoyance, even. It seemed as if he was more concerned with the crowd blocking his path rather than the recently destroyed convenience store. Juri was able to get a good look at him, but the more she stared the more the man seemed to be at unease. Finally, he turned his gaze skyward.

The woman had retreated from the side of the building, catching the man's quick movement before he could catch a glimpse of her. When she was in the convenience store, the magazine rack had caught her eye. She thumbed through the racy magazines of women for a few minutes out of boredom before turning her attention to a sports magazine, the cover page showing two Muay Thai boxers. Interested, she flipped through the pages to find the main article, picking out a few comprehensible words from the native language. Before she decided to level the building, she had seen a picture of the reigning champion, standing in his corner with a smug look on his mug.

His name was Adon. He was Sagat's arrogant student, the jaguar king, and the self-proclaimed god of Muay Thai, and Juri had just seen him in the streets. Despite those who would say the contrary, the man's bark was just as terrible as his bite. He had a tendency to showboat, he talked big, and he had the talent and potential to back himself up with. Muay Thai was what he revered and fought over, to show to the world that it was the deadliest and greatest martial art in the world. He was strong… or at least, he thought he was.

There wasn't much left to do in the day for Juri Han. Her work was done, and she had her fun. S.I.N. would retrieve her in a few hours, whisking her away from the streets of Bangkok to be flown back to headquarters. However, the spider did not feel tired or satisfied. She wanted to be amused further, and she wanted to see someone try in vain to quench her limitless thirst. Her three targets were lying in shallow graves, and what was one more, not counting the store clerk?

Juri grinned, pleased with herself that she was able to come up with a solution for her recently resurfaced boredom. She spat out her gum over the side of the building, too focused on finding Adon to hear the disgusted yelp from below. He would be a delight to fight, as his pride would be utterly shattered when he found taekwando was better than his precious Muay Thai. But Juri did not care to compare fighting styles. All she wanted was to have more fun, no matter the cost.

She caught a glimpse of the red-haired man moving away from the crowd and moved to follow him from the rooftops. Fire red against midnight black made him easy to spot. The man's pace was slow, as if he had nothing better to do at this time of night. Juri leaped to another rooftop to follow him down an alley he had cut through. She examined the area for a moment, finding it too narrow for any real fun. It was a fight she was after, not an awkward tussle in an alley that was barely big enough to support two people.

It soon became known to the Korean that Adon had started to glance over his shoulder periodically. Perhaps he had seen Juri on the building when he was near the convenience store, or maybe the jaguar warrior had the idea that he was being watched. He handled such an idea well enough, not panicking or quickening his pace. Juri smiled as she saw the soles of his feet poking through the bottom of his cloak. They were bare and bandaged, as if he had just recently come from a fight. She hoped he wasn't exhausted. If he wasn't, he must have either easily mopped the floor with a talentless hack or possessed some laudable stamina.

She licked her lips once in anticipation, seeing Adon walk into another alley. He had gone in an entirely different direction this time, completely exposing himself to attack. Perhaps that was his intention, and if so, Juri would be so rude to not oblige him. She leaped to an adjacent rooftop before looking over again at Adon. He had stopped in the alley, rolling his shoulders with his back to Juri. She giggled softly and dropped off the side of the building, landing in the alley a few feet from her new plaything.

Obviously, Adon had heard the sound of soles hitting the pavement from behind, yet he gave no indication. This area was good for a fight. It was wide, long, and free from debris. The walls were tall, perfect for leaping off of. Juri spared the announcement of her presence and sprang forward, closing the distance between the two. She could feel the wind brush her bangs back as she twisted her body to deliver a roundhouse kick to the back of the man's head. Just as her feet touched off did Adon turn around, raising his right arm to block her attack.

His black cloak fell to the ground, revealing his chiseled physique and blue and yellow kickboxing shorts. On his face was a condescending sneer, directed towards the woman who's right leg was pressed firmly against his arm. She grunted in response to his block, quickly hopping up to swing at the other side of his head with her other leg. Adon ducked that one and dodged the following leg sweep by jumping straight up.

Juri widened her eyes as she looked up only to see a leg coming down at her head. She ducked back, performing a back handspring to give herself some room. While she wasn't expecting him to see her moves and dodge them accordingly, she was nevertheless pleased. Finally, someone in this stupid city who could offer her a challenge! Maybe she was judging Adon a little quicker than what was warranted, as he hadn't landed any blows on her yet. She crouched down after her handspring, looking up at the warrior in smug glee.

"You must be new here," Adon said in a patronizing tone.

"What makes you say that?" Juri replied with a flick of her hand, standing up.

Adon chuckled darkly and tapped his chest, putting emphasis on him. Despite the woman's ominous appearance and sadistic attitude, he wasn't frightened. She was a frilled dragon, cold blooded and frightening, but only to discourage her prey's efforts to retaliate. Scratch that metaphor. Adon had seen the straps of the woman's breastplate form into a spider when she backed off. A spider, eh? If she was one, her fangs weren't yet dripping with venom.

"A jaguar king knows fresh meat when it enters his domain."

He skipped forward, dragging a hand behind him as he yelped. Juri, slightly surprised that he was taking the offensive, raised her arms to block his swipe. When it impacted, she felt a strong force behind it, yet not enough to be dangerous. It was more akin to a disorienting slap than a swipe, although the man's outstretched fingers were bent to resemble the claws of an animal. She brushed off his arm and gave him a few low kicks to his legs, which he took like the bite of a flea.

She pressed forward, grabbing onto his arm and attempting to twist it. Adon could only watch in amusement as she tried, but he did not want her to strain his arm. He raised his right knee into her thigh, then her stomach. The action freed him from her flimsy grip, but it did not beat her back. Juri then lashed out with a quick right hook, scoring a hit on the man's left cheek. From there, she lifted a leg straight up, launching Adon into the air in its wake. She cackled as she watched him achieve liftoff.

Although such an attack would be deadly given the fall, Adon quickly righted himself in midair like the big cat he was. He landed gracefully on his feet with a grunt of displeasure, shooting a glare at the woman who had attacked him. This would be an interesting fight, as it wasn't often he fought martial artists who did not fight in the Muay Thai style. The woman's style was most akin to taekwando, although she had thrown in a few touches of her own to make it unique. He scratched his nose and went in for the kill.

The Muay Thai fighter dodged a straight kick with a sidestep maneuver, feeling the wind from the strike brush his skin. Before Juri could even call her leg back, she found an elbow smashing into her from overhead. Pain shot into her system, making her wince only slightly. She could see a follow-up in the form of a left hook and darted her head back to avoid it. Amazingly, Adon twisted his body to the left after his whiffed punch and sent a leg out in a roundhouse, using the gravitation of his right arm to give it more power.

Juri skipped back enough to miss the foot diving into her ribs. However, she noticed that her current position left her head out further than the rest of her body. It was an amateur's mistake, one Adon capitalized on. Using the force of his missed attack, he planted his right foot on the ground and turned, lifting his left foot up into the air. It was a spinning hook kick, and it found its mark against the left side of Juri's face. Given the force, it felt like a baseball bat.

She stumbled to the right, rubbing the side of her face. No blood yet, and that was a pretty good kick. She could feel the pain in her body already, but it would be nothing compared to the pain the man would soon endure. Adon hopped up and down like a gremlin, grinning like a madman. He took a few steps, circling Juri as he opened his mouth.

"My skills are without equal!" he yelped, smashing a fist into an open palm. "Show me what you've got to offer against Muay Thai!"

"Come on big boy," Juri replied sarcastically, dropping into a crouch. "I'll break you!"

Now that the kiddy gloves were taken off, Juri sprang forward to deliver a front kick to Adon's ribs, which was dodged with a howl of amusement. She set down her foot and launched a kick over to the man's side, following his dodge. Now, that kick connected with his body, crumpling him somewhat. He grunted in pain before striking out with a knee, but Juri saw that from a mile away. She blocked the strike and changed her stance, lifting herself onto one foot.

"I'm going to enjoy playing with you…" she said in an ominous tone.

Smiling sadistically, she struck out with her left leg at Adon's legs to score a hit. Reeling from the attack, Adon was subjected to a strike to the head from the same leg in quick succession. Another strike came, this time in the form of a hard roundhouse from Juri's right leg into his midsection. He careened to the side and would have regained his balance quickly had it not been for his attacker's intervention. She pushed him over with a jab from her elbow, sending him to the cold pavement.

That was child's play for the Muay Thai warrior. He sprang back up to his feet and raised his fists again, sending a hard right into Juri's chest. The two soon got into a rhythm that would have been beautiful had it not been such a fatal meeting of limbs. Blows were exchanged left and right, Juri gradually gaining the upper hand with her fast kicks. She caught his leg in a block and smashed her left leg into his side, his thigh, his leg, and finished with a strike to the head.

Crumpling to the ground again, Adon panted like an exhausted jaguar. Juri approached him, absentmindedly twirling her belt as she sneered.

"You all broken? Get back up; I'm not finished with you just yet!"

"I'm just getting started!" he growled back, raising a clenched fist.

He got back up to his feet and dashed forward, keeping his fists up. Juri anticipated a knee strike and raised a leg to block, but to her surprise she found the man did not perform a flying knee. He ducked down briefly, closing the distance between him and his opponent before bringing his two fists up near her chest. They bushed against the fabric of Juri's breastplate before impacting in the soft underside of her jaw. She grunted in pain and stumbled back, unknowingly setting herself up for another attack.

A sharp elbow came her way, smashing against her left brow. It bruised the skin, almost cutting like a knife. She staggered to the side and further set herself up for a follow-up strike, which Adon took greedily. He ran up to her and positioned his foot to support a jump. Leaping up, he dragged a knee behind him with a roar of fury. He shot forward with it, hitting Juri square in the chin. The sheer force knocked her off her feet and pressed her hard against the pavement.

A flash of light lit up the night sky, but Juri wrote it off as stars in her vision. The most earsplitting sound came from above. Thunder, a clear indication of a storm, and it had followed lightning. She gritted her teeth, noticing the copper taste of blood in her mouth. She could feel the liquid life slosh around under her tongue, and she spat some of it out as she turned over to get back on her feet. It felt foreign to her fingertips, but at the same time she enjoyed the sight of her own blood. It meant a strong fighter had eased it out of her body. With the blood slowly dribbling down her chin, she stood up.

"The flailing of a lunatic is no match for the king of the jaguars, wench!"

Rain pitter-pattered against the pavement, slow at first before eventually building up to become a small downpour. It washed away the blood on Juri's fingertips and pressed into her hair, dampening it. She turned her head to glare in Adon's direction, smirking lightly. Knocked down a few times and still he insisted on talking big? He needed someone to put him in his place, then his shallow grave… Not wasting another minute, she widened her stance and focused on the machine that was her left eye.

Adon looked on in wonder as one of the woman's eyes sparked up with a ferocious shade of purple. It was like a flash of lightning, and it was almost as blinding as the sun. He continued to stare, grimacing at the sight in front of him. What kind of power was this, he wondered. He had seen flashes of purple in the woman's kicks, enough to come to the conclusion that this was no ordinary fighter. She was blessed with superior ki abilities, like his mentor and the demon fighter were.

Juri could feel the energy flowing from her eye, spreading throughout her body. Ki energy swam through her veins and strengthened her system, closing wounds and healing minor injuries. So much power was drawn from the eye that it was intoxicating. She looked over at Adon and flashed him a threatening and provocative look, letting her tongue roll out to hang to the right of her mouth.

It was time to play rough.

Before Adon could even register what was happening, Juri had pounced at him like a spider about to sink its fangs into its prey. She slashed at him with her kicks, she scraped his sides with her jabs, and she bloodied his nose with an axe kick. Adon struggled to get out from this web of torment created by the Korean who at this point was laughing maniacally. He sent an elbow up to dissuade her from attacking, but it only graced her cheek. If there was any hope of him winning this fight, he would have to find a way to block her new power.

The Korean backpedaled away from the follow-up elbow, giving Adon a better view of who she was now. He saw a crazed psychopath with a glowing purple eye. Her hair had come loose from its style, and the purple rings that had held it up were dangling lazily from her raven locks. No, she was a wild animal, eager for its late meal. Starved from a good fight, she had jumped on the opportunity to fight another wild animal. With a sway of her hips, she twisted into a strange position that confused Adon, giving her time to perform one of her unique moves.

She crouched before springing forward in what could be considered a backwards aerial cartwheel. It broke through Adon's block and smashed into his jaw, even knocking him up into the air. As he felt the ground leave him, he felt someone above him. Sure enough, when he opened his eyes from his fit of cringing he saw Juri high above him. She slammed a foot into his stomach, riding him down to the ground. The woman expected this to be the end of it all, but surprisingly she didn't hear a snap of bone. She leapt off of him and smiled, dragging a hand down her face to highlight her Feng Shui Engine.

"Did I hurt you?" she asked in a snide tone.

Adon rolled over and pressed himself up, dodging a curb stomp. His grimace was replaced by a mad grin, unaffected by his attacker's sadistic smile. He shot a cursory glance at Juri before placing his legs firmly against the pavement, springing back into the air.

"I'm ready to finish this!"

Interestingly enough, it was time for the fight to draw to a close. Adon landed against a wall, pressing up against it like a jaguar ready to pounce. He could almost see Juri's eyes widened to dinner plate proportions as he shot towards her with a leg extended. Such an attack was not expected, not after all the attacks that were landed. If she wasn't about to be struck, Juri would have melted in glee, as the man had incredible stamina and was persistent enough to give her a good time. She prepared to counter the move when her thigh was assaulted by Adon's special move, which felt like a sledgehammer.

Wincing, she keeled over a little. This provided Adon a wondrous opportunity to slash at her brow again with his elbow. He lifted his right limb and shot it out at her head, effectively hitting his mark. The sound of flesh breaking filled the alleyway, and Adon's elbow came away with the Korean's blood. He attacked again, ravaging Juri's brow a second time with his other elbow. He anticipated the woman's flailing moves when she countered, ducking around her to slam a knee into her back.

Juri wished that the poke in her back was just the one and only attack there, but she felt another rising knee to the back of her head. She fell forward, preventing the fall from becoming damaging by using the palms of her hands to cushion herself. More blood came from her mouth, and she reacted to this by spitting some of it out into the pavement. Whatever data that was being analyzed by the eye was slowing to a crawl, for the blood from her brow had obscured her vision. The purple haze dimmed significantly at this notion.

Gritting her teeth, she roared with fury and got to her feet. She turned and transitioned into a menacing stance, but instead of seeing a disheartened warrior, she saw a jaguar king unfazed. There was no time for her to react to an overhead kick to her shoulders, and she staggered as it drew more and more pain into her system. Two more kicks followed it, as well as Adon's revelation of his attack, a strongly emphasized 'Jaguar Revolver'. She could see the wild look in his hazel eyes as he crouched down near her.

An elbow slammed into her jaw, lifting her up from the sheer force. She felt gravity had betrayed her, as she found herself in orbit with the jaguar king. Blow after blow slammed into her chest and jaw without mercy, and with every strike she could hear Adon laughing away like she would when she had someone at her mercy. Something was wrong with this picture! There was pain, and it had Juri caught in its clutches. There was blood, and it was Juri's. There was weakness, and Adon was exploiting it. Just as the blows ended did she believe she could fall back to earth, but even when she had an inkling that she had had enough, Adon wasn't finished.

A brutal knee to the chin shattered Juri's hopes, as well as her jaw. Stars shot into her vision, bathing everything in a white light. Her Feng Shui Engine deactivated, and she could feel all of her energy leave her. Subjected to the forces of both nature and the knee against her chin, she flew further into the air before crashing down hard on the pavement. She cried out as she felt something inside her break, be it a collarbone or rib. The rain pelted her regardless of her pain, feeling like minor pinpricks against her skin at this point.

Barring her teeth, she painfully titled her head up off the pavement to see Adon's feet nearby. The man squatted down, placing his arms over his thighs as he gave an arrogant upturn of his head. The battle had been hard on him as well, and he bore the scars of it all. His lip was busted, but it seemed to have healed. His body was bruised, but it was not broken. His face was contorted into one hell of a smug grin, as he knew he had won. Juri wanted to claw his face, rip out his eyes, break his bones and watch him scream, anything to wipe that grin off from his face.

"There's something endearing about seeing such a pathetic woman grovel at my feet," he said with a chuckle.

Juri coughed up blood, splattering it onto the pavement in front of her. Falling onto her side, she slowly brought up her hand and balled it into a fist.

"I'm n-not letting you go!"

"Oh? What more can you do to me in the position that you're in now?" Adon replied with half-closed eyes, taunting her predicament. "Spit on me?"

There was no response. Juri glared at the man like an abused animal, and she flinched at the smallest movements of his hands. This served to amuse Adon, who reached forward and lightly slapped the side of her face twice before she opened her mouth to bite him. He drew his hand back just as she would have bit his index finger, and he laughed at her pathetic attempt to fight back. He stood up and looked around the alley before finding his black cloak on the ground and picking it up. The rain had brought his hair down and took it away from its aerodynamic streak.

"I expected more of a challenge," he lied, although Juri could not detect it, "especially from an assassin."

Juri couldn't cry at a time like this. She hadn't done such a thing in years. Too long had she gone without a worthy opponent, and this one had beaten her within an inch of her life. She thought of what would happen next, and could only come up with one idea. It was dark, there was a dominant man and a beaten woman, they were in an alley, and no one else was around. Adon, with his opportunistic, furious, and arrogant personality, would seek to go further.

The concept of rape was not new to Juri, even though she had never been, nor had she ever done. As a woman, she was subjected to the same fears any other woman was. It didn't matter how strong she was or who she worked for, that fear persisted just as well as death did. She wasn't going to die here, that was certain, but she wasn't sure if she going to walk away with only a few bruises and a scarred pride. She ultimately came to the conclusion that she had no idea what would happen next, and that rape was likely. That sense of fear wrapped itself around her and clouded her mind with all sorts of terrible ideas, all of which she hoped would not come to fruition.

Adon rolled his shoulders, obviously pleased to have his cloak of status around his shoulders once again. Juri watched him out of the corner of her eye as he took a step forward only to stop mid-stride. Such hesitation from him combined with her imagination and fear made her shudder, and he turned around to look at her again to further unnerve her. It was just a broken jaw and a cracked rib or two, no big deal. If he did plan on doing what Juri was thinking, she could fight back. He walked over to her form and stared down his nose at her, his grin widening.

"Tell you what… Would you like to know the difference between us and how it worked so terribly against you?" His tone was patronizing, as if he was speaking to a disciplined child. "The difference between a jaguar and a spider is that a jaguar wisely selects its prey while the spider will bite at anything caught in its web. You chose to attack a king in his prime, and you suffered the consequences."

With a small chuckle, he turned to walk down the alley in the direction he came from. He had to pass by Juri, and he turned his head down to look at her writhing form. She wasn't a bad fighter, but she was nothing compared to him. A jaguar king had no need for an unruly shrew, no matter how splendid or fierce her appearance was. He smirked when she didn't use the opportunity to lash out at him, instead opting to stare at her own blood on the pavement. Her voice called out to him when he was a few feet away, making him stop yet again.

"This isn't over," she growled as she tilted her head to look at him. "I won't forget this… I'll find you. I'll find you and I'll break every bone in your body, then I'll break in those goddamn teeth of yours." Juri chuckled darkly. "Then, I'm going to watch you bleed before you beg me to end your life…"

"Is that a threat?" Adon asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No… that's a promise."

"Is that so?"

The two stared at each other for the longest time. Hazel eyes bored into violet pools, one full of arrogance while the other was filled to the brim with venom and fury. Adon scratched his nose once before turning around, leaving the woman where she was on the pavement. He looked over his shoulder and replied in a cool tone:

"Don't make promises you can't keep…"

As Adon walked away, Juri could only stare. If there was ever a need for incentive, now was the time. She had been beaten and mocked, left alone in the neglected back alleys of Bangkok while her target nonchalantly walked into the streets. It didn't matter how long it would take or what was expended, Juri would find Adon again. She swore on her life that she would either kill him… or put him in his place.


	2. Round Two

**Author's Note:** Chapter contains adult themes.

* * *

><p>She had made a promise.<p>

No one could get away from the wrath of a woman scorned, and Juri Han was no exception. She would stop at nothing to see her desires fulfilled, even if it meant trampling others in her quest for satisfaction. Like a spoiled child, she always got what she wanted. When she was on top, people ran from her out of fear that they would displease her. When she was under Seth, those in S.I.N. could only watch slack-jawed as the leader was wrapped around her pale fingers. Her web of destruction and manipulation was strong... yet she failed to snare one person.

That one Muay Thai boxer was the only one who had beaten her. She had jumped on the opportunity to fight him, expecting some fun as well as a victory. The outcome of their fight was anything but enjoyable. Even with the eye assisting her, Juri fell victim to her own pride and suffered a devastating loss at Adon's hands. He had mocked her, looked down at her as dirt, and left her lying in Bangkok's back alleys without so much as a look of sympathy, not that Juri wanted to see such empathy from such an arrogant man.

She had picked herself up, hissing angrily against the pain running through her system. The cut on her brow had dribbled blood down the side of her face, and her broken jaw seemed to keep the copper taste of her liquid life forever in her mouth. She stumbled around, retracing her steps like a drunkard after an eventful night before eventually finding the rendezvous point for her extraction. Ignoring the suppressed chuckles from a few soldiers of S.I.N., Juri returned to headquarters. She had completed her assignment, the assassination of three key targets, but she had lost a trivial fight.

Seth bemoaned her actions, chastising her for doing something as stupid as getting carried away and getting injured as a consequence. He seemed almost surprised that someone had defeated his confidante, but his chrome features were chiseled into an apathetic expression. Only the most overconfident and naive minds would believe that they could remain unopposed. Instead, his tone became patronizing, taking the opportunity to point out everything Juri had done wrong. Only when he had finished lecturing her did he finally give her medical attention.

For a week, Juri remained in the confines of the base, licking her wounds. The desire to exact revenge on Adon plagued her every thought, almost to the point of obsession. She hated the man for defeating her and even more so for rubbing it in her face. His sneer seemed forever burned in her retinas, and his voice could not be unheard. When someone laughed behind her back, she thought of his sadistic cackle and seethed. The man would not get away with what he had done, and Juri would make sure of it.

Her boss had noticed her narrow-minded disposition and desire for revenge, but he only shook his head. Clearly the woman just could not accept defeat. This became a problem when the woman demanded Adon's location, refusing to carry out any pressing missions until she learned it. Seth, tired of her childish and vindictive behavior, offered to send out a squad of men to simply kill him, but Juri screamed at that. Death was too good for the man, and she wanted to personally see him beg for it. He was hers and hers alone.

Ultimately Seth had no choice but to yield to Juri's desire for vengeance. He found her recent behavior to be similar to Sagat's when he was upset by Ryu's shoryuken, how he had ranted and raved and hungered for revenge. Shadaloo provided him the means to find the wandering warrior, yet when he finally did find him, he experienced an epiphany. There was no honor in remaining a vindictive person, and he realized this when he spared. He left Shadaloo to dwell on his thoughts, vowing to understand the true meaning of the fight. Juri was no figurehead of a martial art and not a sage. She wanted Adon dead, and Seth wanted his confidante back.

After some research and investigation, S.I.N. found the man's location of residence. Bangkok was not his home as Juri thought, but rather a small village that was called Pai. Because she would not rest until Adon was writhing at her feet, Seth issued an ultimatum: she would not be able to return to the base until her problem was resolved. Juri thought of the ultimatum in a more positive light, as it gave her all the time in the world to get her job done. She had watched many tapes on the man and had studied up on his style, preparing herself for the inevitable rematch. He would die, and that inane chapter of Juri's life would be forgotten, returning her back to S.I.N. and her usual life within it.

Juri soon found herself standing at the entrance to the village, coughing away from the cloud of dust left behind from the truck that dropped her off. She looked behind herself, seeing the creeping rainforest that loomed over the dirt road. A few coos and cries burst out of the atmosphere, proving that the rainforest was teeming with energy. It was a stark contrast to the village, as Juri turned back and noticed she couldn't find a soul in sight. The wooden buildings creaked slightly in the soft wind, the leaves of the bushes rustled when disturbed, and the trickling of a stream could be heard in the distance. While the woman's appearance was ominous, as she had arrived in her usual outfit, it seemed that the villagers were not gone because she was around.

Without further ado, she stepped forward and walked through the village, her eyes examining everything in the vicinity. If she was going to fight here, she needed to know the layout of the village down to every last wooden post. But knowing the area was secondary. Her eyes were peeled for that fire red streak of hair against midnight black. Adon had to be here, he just had to be. Even jaguars needed to rest, she thought, mocking his title.

Some tropical bird caught her eye, distracting her for a brief moment. She watched as it flew over a few pillars of steam, disappearing behind a rather large and rocky hill. The steam attracted her, and she moved closer and through the pseudo-streets of Pai until she stopped at a wooden fence. Looking over it, she saw a few steaming pools of water sunken into the earth. Hot springs… and they looked ridiculously tempting. They would do well for washing the blood off of her hands when she was done.

Overcome by her curiosity, she placed her gloved hands on the wooden fence and leaped forward, vaulting over it. She landed a few feet below where she was originally, proving that the area itself was sunken down just a little lower than the mainland. The sound of a gate slamming against wood made her flinch, and she turned to her right to see a few villagers leaving the area wrapped in towels. If they had seen her, they gave no indication.

Juri shook her head and returned her attention to the hot springs. She tentatively stuck her hand into one of the pools, shooting it back out of reflex. Yes, they certainly were hot. Upon closer analysis, the pools stretched on quite a ways, hugging the edges of the rainforest all the while. Intuition told her that something good awaited her if she followed a small path that cut into the forest from the hot springs. She glanced about again, ascertaining that no one was aware of her or rushing to find authorities before she shrugged and took off down the path.

The sheer weight of the air around her could be easily felt. The entire area, or any area in or around rainforests, was rich with oxygen. Every plant was a factory, and it churned out its products without end. Juri brushed aside a few vines as she descended into the forest, her feet scraping gently against years upon years of undergrowth. Now that she knew where she was going, she began to understand just why her intuition sent her down this path. If she were to make a career out of fighting, she would have to deal with so many people, and her aggression and pride wouldn't exactly make her personable. In S.I.N., the only peace and quiet she got was in her quarters, so perhaps Adon thought the same.

It made sense for Adon, the loudest and proudest practitioner of Muay Thai, to seek refuge in a forest. To fight day after day in a quest to bring honor to the fighting style would eventually take its toll, and all the publicity and socialization would reach their limits. Hard to believe an arrogant man like him would want to seclude himself out here. It seemed that his type would be found in the cities, thriving in the nightlife they provided. Perhaps Adon was not a people person, or he simply enjoyed his surroundings.

'_A jaguar can't survive in the city,' _Juri thought, jumping over a few tree roots. _'He wants to stay out of the zoo…'_

Juri shook her head, sparing herself from agreeing with his choice of residence. She was here to destroy him, not to sympathize with him. The path went on for a few minutes, winding around streams and rocks and weaving up hills. She looked to her right and saw that she was looking down at the village of Pai, finding that the path had simply taken her up a small plateau she had seen earlier. She grimaced and shook her head, believing that she had wasted her time. No one was around to direct her, but she wasn't about to give up searching.

A shrill yelp caught her ear, one that she recognized. He was close, very close. Juri dropped into a cautionary stance and moved further up the path, peeking around bushes and trees as she went. Just like in Bangkok, she was in his domain. Because he knew the terrain, he had some advantage over Juri. It wouldn't be enough to save him, but it was enough of an advantage to be cautious about. She eased forward, stopping in her tracks when she saw a medium-sized wooden house at the end of the path.

It was different from all the huts and stands she had seen so far. There was probably no air conditioning, but it seemed like a fine place to live in. A patio was out in front, sheltered from the sun by an overhanging roof. Deeper inside was a door that lead into the inside of the house, but Juri was not concerned with the insides. The sound had come from outside. She circled the building at a distance, examining every window and wall that passed through her line of vision before finding the back porch.

Now there was a view. The porch overlooked the back of the plateau, which in turn opened up to the rest of the world below. Juri could see a stream running past the porch over many washed and eroded rocks, falling viciously down into the forest below when it reached the end of the plateau. All she could see were the green tops of the trees and how they so beautifully contrasted against the blue sky, which was at this point taking on a reddish hue from the setting sun.

Then, she saw him. There he was standing on the back porch, moving about freely in the large amount of space it offered. He struck out at the air with a leg, pivoting about on the ball of his foot. More kicks followed that before Adon moved onto his other points of contact. He lifted his knee in front of him, thrusting out with a shout. He alternated his knees, performing some kind of dance in Juri's eyes. Then, he stopped and stiffened. It was as if the hair on the back of his neck was standing straight up now, a predator's signal of being watched.

Juri scowled, placing a hand on her hip as she looked at his back. It almost seemed like he was expecting her to find him, but not at his humble abode. Obviously he knew she was behind him, but he was in no hurry to address her. He rolled his shoulders back and forth, glancing over his shoulder to look at Juri. There was that smirk again, the one she had quickly grown to hate. She simply watched as the man faced her completely, arms wide as if he was providing a show.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the wench from Bangkok," he said, looking down his nose at the woman he had beaten only a mere week ago. "I'm impressed! You managed to track a jaguar to his home!"

"I told you I would find you," Juri replied, suppressing her anger.

"Among other things."

"Yeah, and I intend to get right to them," Juri said darkly.

She stepped forward, pressing the soles of her feet into the grass. Clenching her fists, she meant to close the distance between her and Adon when he placed his arms on the railing of his porch and lifted a hand, urging her to stay where she was. Interestingly enough, Juri chose to comply and stopped moving. She doubted he was going to try to talk her out of fighting, and she knew he wasn't going to grovel. This impending conversation would only further persuade her to kick the man's teeth in, she thought.

"My, aren't you a vindictive one," Adon said as he wiped his brow. "You're from S.I.N., aren't you?"

"What makes you say that?"

"You certainly don't look like a common thug from one of Bangkok's gangs. You've got a strange power that none of them have, and you move like an assassin." He folded his arms, leaning forward to place his chin on them. "My first guess was Shadaloo, but the organization you belong to has been making waves in Thailand recently, so I revised my assumption."

Juri raised her eyebrows. The man wasn't as dense as she had originally thought. Certainly he was headstrong and stubborn, but he was not an idiot. His guess was spot-on, and he must have thought back to the encounter in Bangkok for some time to come up with it. How he believed she was a part of Shadaloo's weapons division was a mystery, as there shouldn't have been any evidence that Juri could give to him. Her outfit didn't scream 'I work for S.I.N.', she didn't disclose any personal information, and the man had no care to press her for information.

"You're the one who killed four people a week ago, aren't you?" Adon continued, leaning back to scratch the underside of his chin.

"I might have had something to do with it," Juri said dismissively.

"Callous too! You're quite the murderous shrew," Adon said with a grin, leaning back to wag a patronizing finger. "Ah, no worries. Three of them were part of a notorious triad, and they won't be missed." His grin disappeared to be replaced with a stoic expression. "Really? The store clerk? He was one annoying and persistent child, but that didn't warrant his death. Now I'll have to look elsewhere for alcohol."

A sense of relief washed over Juri. When he had talked of her three targets, she knew he was going to speak of the store clerk who had gotten in her way. She found herself fearing that the kid was Adon's friend or relative instead of looking forward to it. It would have angered the man to know that someone close to him had been killed, as it would drive him to fight out of rage, resulting in reduced performance. Sympathy was playing tricks on her again. She had no reason to be afraid of the man, and not even that fight a week ago influenced that.

"Do you have a name, you venomous spider?"

"Do you always enjoy being rude?" Juri said with a smile.

"I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant." Adon moved around the railing of his porch, descending a few steps at the back. "I could always find more condescending words to refer to you, or I could call you by name."

"Juri," she said, "but feel free to keep flattering me."

Adon removed himself from the porch, steadily approaching Juri. He cracked his knuckles in a gesture of intimidation, grinning wide like the spastic little gremlin he was. Because he had won the last fight, he had the upper hand. The woman's moves were known now to some extent, but so were his. All he had to do was punish her for slipping up, but he would also have to take risks with her. Obviously, they were going to fight, and Adon was looking forward to it. If Juri tracked him down, she was to suffer the consequences.

At the sight of Adon approaching, Juri took an involuntary step back. Her thoughts went back to the fight in Bangkok where the man had exploited her flailing moves to his gain. She would have to be careful and patient, and most importantly, she would have to take her time. There were no objections to drawing out the fight, as she wanted to make the man suffer for his past victory. Surely he would entertain her before the end.

"Well then, Juri," Adon said, stopping a good distance away from her, "I am Adon, although you probably know that by now. It's always a pleasure to see such an obsessive fan," he muttered sarcastically. "Don't deny it. Instead of leaving me in peace, you come into the hunting grounds of a jaguar king with vengeful motives. You must be one hell of a masochist!"

"Ha! As if!" Juri retorted. "I keep my promises, and I'm not letting any loser king walk away with a lucky win." She lowered herself into her fighting stance, gesturing to herself with a wave of the hand. "I'm going to watch you writhe!"

"How quickly we resort to violence," Adon muttered with a sneer.

Juri leaped into the air, ignoring the words coming from the Thai man's mouth as she twisted her body. She launched herself down at an angle, extending a leg out at Adon as a quick strike. While she expected him to be caught off guard, instead she found that the only thing she had kicked was the ground. He had sidestepped her attack, saving himself from harm. Before she could correct her position and get back into a blocking stance, Adon reached forward and grabbed her by the arm.

She wanted to beat him back, but a jab to her stomach halted her movements before they even started. Winded, she lurched forward only to receive a hard slap to the left side of her face. Using the eye crossed her mind, but she beat back the temptation. The fight was to be drawn out and enjoyable for her, and she believed she could win if all she did was watch and learn. She staggered against the slap, her arm still gripped by the man. It seemed he did not account for her legs.

His legs were swept out from under him, freeing Juri from his grip. Instead of picking at him while down, she backed away and drew up her ki energy into her legs. It would be a game of keep away, she thought bitterly. If she could wear him down with her speed, she could move in and hit harder than before. It was a predator's method of thinking, to wear down the prey with speed and agility until it could not evade properly. She crouched low and dragged her leg across the grass as she spun, firing off a purple projectile towards Adon, who was now back on his feet.

The attack caught him off guard, but it did not surprise him. Projectiles… He had heard of those with superior ki abilities that were able to create attacks with their energy, firing them off and away towards their opponent. Depending on where it hit, it either felt like a firm headbutt, a strong punch, or a stinging kick. Sometimes the projectile served to take away energy, but mostly it was a physical attack. Adon was not frightened by this display of potential, far from it. His mentor had these types of attacks, and Adon knew just how to exploit them.

When Juri sent out another purple ball of energy, Adon leaped up and over it, dragging an outstretched leg. He flipped forward in midair, garnishing more momentum and power before slamming his leg down on her shoulder. It seemed as if he had struck water, as Juri had dashed away in a purple haze just as the hit connected. She giggled once before kicking Adon's side, turning him back around to face her. Before he could pursue with a kick, Juri flipped back to put more distance between each other.

This became the norm for one minute. Juri would fire off a few projectiles to dissuade Adon from getting too close, and she would dart away when he leaped over her attacks. Already the jaguar king was getting flustered, as his trademark grin was replaced by a grimace. He kept trying to get at the woman, but she kept dodging and moving away. Sighing, he squatted down and placed his chin in the palm of his hand, looking over at the woman through half-closed eyes. A jaguar had to be patient to catch its prey. He would not continue to chase Juri until she got close enough.

Juri noticed this display of poor sportsmanship and dispelled a projectile towards his head, agitated that he was taunting her with his bored posture. She had fired off quite a few already, and the projectile had some ways to go to get to its victim. Instead of hitting Adon like she had intended, the projectile fizzled out before it even touched him. He didn't even flinch! Perhaps Juri was getting tired, but she would rather die than admit that her stamina was waning.

"I expected more from you," Adon grumbled.

"Aww, so sorry," Juri replied in an insincere tone of voice. She leaned forward with her arms akimbo. "Deal with it, loser."

"Afraid to fight me up close?"

"No."

"It's not a fight if you keep scuttling away like the miserable little insect you are," Adon said, his insult bringing back a condescending sneer. "As an assassin, I would have figured you would have the decency to look a man in the eyes while you kill him, or in this case, while you so pitifully try to."

The Korean furrowed her brow.

"The more you talk, the more I'm going to make you suffer…"

"Oh yes, I'm sure you're just dying to get your hands around my neck. You're just a sniveling coward who can't build up the mettle to do it." He stood up straight, grabbing at his elbows as he stretched nonchalantly. "Your fangs are just for show, spider, and you bite with the intensity of a flea!"

"I'm warning you-"

"The lunatic in the alley was a worthier opponent than the woman standing before me now, even when your futility became your downfall!" Adon laughed once before pointing at Juri. "You're nothing but a sad, strange little woman! I laugh at your pathetic attempts to disguise your insanity and feebleness! Do you really believe you can defeat a Muay Thai legend?"

"Shut up!"

Juri's blood boiled as she bared her teeth. She was through with standing around seething. How dare he insult her! How dare he mock her! Never before in her life had she remembered being this angry. She clenched her fists tightly, grateful that her gloves prevented her sharp nails from drawing blood from her palms. Every fiber of her being loathed this bastard of a man, every little voice screamed out for his suffering! She dismissed the idea of wearing him down from a distance and jumped forward, dragging a leg behind her.

She twisted her body to bring said leg around, increasing the force behind it. It hit Adon's raised arms, serving to only push him back a few inches. After landing, Juri jabbed at his sides with her kicks, grunting in anger as every single one was blocked. She did manage to score a hit on the side of his face with a quick hook, but it did very little to remove his grin. In fact, such a quick burst of attacks only encouraged Adon to egg her on.

"Yes, that's it! Succumb to anger!" He dodged a kick and retaliated with an elbow slash, striking the side of Juri's head. "Become a beast!"

"I'll rip your heart out!" Juri yelled, quickly recovering from the slash.

In hindsight, fighting a warrior who excelled in close combat fighting while furious wasn't exactly the best idea Juri had. She wanted him crumpled at her feet, and she didn't care how or when it would go about as long as the end result was that. Her attacks were wild, almost flails if it weren't for the style she fought in. Kicks were deflected, punches whiffed, and blows were exchanged. Juri took more hits than she gave, but she neglected to pay attention to her condition.

The soft ruffles of grass around her and the sudden black lines in her line of sight notified her that the purple rings that held her hair up in its style had fallen to the ground. She hissed angrily, reaching up to bring her bangs back behind her ears, hoping that her shoulder-length hair would stay there and no longer trouble her. Because she had taken her attention off of Adon, she soon found his hands on her shoulders. He pulled her down onto his knee, knocking the wind out of her. The pointed end of his knee seemed to stab into her ribs like a knife, sending an abysmal amount of pain through her system. This was nothing compared to the follow-up knee strike to the chin, which brought back the terrible memory of Juri's first defeat.

Stars burst into her vision as she fell back. Even the grass felt like pinpricks against her skin, just like the rain did before. She rolled over to pick herself up, staggering to the side before regaining her footing. There was no doubt about it that she was on her final legs, and they were quite wobbly at this point. Breathing came to her in short, staggered intervals, and her stamina seemed nonexistent. She was stunned, and she tried desperately to shake herself out of it.

She staggered back, not sure of her surroundings until her feet brushed against the wooden floorboards of Adon's back porch. It felt foreign to her, just another feeling to add to her confusion. Her chest stung and was sore to the touch. The worst headache gripped her. Her legs whined against her activity, begging for rest. Juri looked up, still somewhat dizzy. Adon was there with a wild look in his eyes, and it soon became obvious that he wasn't finished with her just yet.

"You'll pay for disappointing me!" he cried as he reeled back.

He shot forward with an elbow, slashing at her side with an almost jaguaresque roar. Another elbow came around and slammed into her head, rattling her brain. Not only did the strikes pour waves upon waves of pain into her, they also woke her up. This was the final straw, the finishing move, the grand flourish. Juri had been so angry and frustrated, and it had cost her dearly. Because of her pride, she had neglected to use her eye, even when it could have helped her in this fight. It was too late to activate it now, as the body would be too weak to properly process all the power.

Adon continued his varied assault, cackling away. He sent out two more elbow strikes and reveled in the woman's pain, her pained, short screams like music to his ears. It wasn't that he was sadistic; he just enjoyed beating down those who talked big and had nothing to show. He could be a loud, intimidating prick when he wanted to be, and suffice to say, such an attitude garnished him many victories. All who stepped into the ring with him were destroyed, and their pride was utterly crushed. This Juri woman just needed an extra beating to realize she couldn't win.

Something gripped him and prevented him from continuing his strikes. Arrogance again, or was it mercy? He relented from a fifth strike and brought his elbows back to simply look at Juri, who he found was in no condition to continue fighting. She stumbled back and fell against the wall of his home, whimpering softly. She slowly slid down it to land on her bottom with her head bowed in pain. Her vitality was gone, and she could not muster up the strength to stand again. With a pained and angry expression, she slowly looked up at Adon. To him, her expression looked more like an irritated pout than a death glare.

"You're through," he growled, striking a proud pose.

"…Ugh… Dammit…" she mumbled, closing her eyes and pressing a hand to her temples.

Words could not express how much Juri hated her situation. She had been beaten not once, but twice by the same man in the same week. Any other fighter would brush off the loss and carry on, but Juri couldn't. She hated him so. She would not stand to have such an arrogant and patronizing fighter to walk away with two wins over her. It went against everything she believed to accept defeat. No matter what or how long it took, she would get her revenge.

She shook her head and opened her eyes again, focusing on the blurry image of Adon standing over her.

"Beaten twice by a king… Tell me, how do you live with your shame?" he asked.

Shame? Now that was a feeling that was just as foreign as defeat. Juri never felt ashamed about anything that she had done, nor had she ever felt embarrassed. No sheepish blush had ever graced her cheeks, and she had never made awkward excuses for her mistakes. Now she felt the sting of defeat and how it so damaged her pride. What kind of assassin was she if she could not defeat a random Muay Thai fighter? Men with guns were thought to be more troublesome, but they paled in comparison to this man.

Anger came back to her in torrents, persuading her to fight again. She wasn't sure if she could do enough damage to matter, but she wasn't going to concede if she was still conscious and able to fight back. Furrowing her brow, she squirmed lightly and dropped her hands to the floorboards, ignoring the aches in her arms as she tried to push herself up. The chuckles from Adon were all that she heard, and they served to increase the intensity of her anger. He would regret the day he met her… that was certain.

"Oh please," Adon scoffed, folding his arms as he watched Juri's attempt at standing, "just stay down!"

Juri managed to get herself in a crouch, her anger supplying her with enough energy to get the job done. Before Adon could react, she leapt forward at him, her hands greedily grabbing at whatever piece of skin she could get. The Muay Thai fighter wanted to think he wasn't surprised by this final act, as he knew that even the tamest creature could lash out like a feral animal when cornered, but he wasn't expecting Juri to pounce him like one. Stifling his startled cry, Adon fell onto the floorboards of his own porch with a maniac on top of him.

He growled and looked up only to receive a stiff punch to the side of his face by the woman. It seemed that the fight was not over yet, as both combatants had reached into another pool of stamina. Adon widened his eyes a little when he felt Juri straddling his hips. If the circumstances were different, he would have been flattered by such an act. Flattered, but not pleased. It was not his place to be on bottom, especially when he was being assaulted. With this in mind, he reached up to stop one of Juri's punches with one of his hands.

Juri grunted in annoyance and tried to get her hand away from his, but he had a firm grip on her wrist just below her spiked bracelet. She wanted to bite him for that, but she settled on throwing a punch to his head with her other fist. That attack was anticipated, and Adon quickly caught her other wrist. What ensued could be described as a test of strength, as Adon was busy pushing up and away while Juri focused on moving down and towards his neck, her hands clenching and unclenching in extreme want.

From this position, both fighters were able to examine the other clearly, as this was the closest they had ever gotten to each other. Adon looked into Juri's violet eyes and could make out a small design in her left eye, hinting at her strange power he had seen a week ago. A white bandage covered her left brow, a reminder of his brutal elbow strike. Her raven-colored hair was scattered about around her shoulders, just barely touching. Two straps that held up the top left side of her breastplate had snapped off, allowing the article of clothing to sag just a little from gravity's influence.

As for Juri, she looked down at the fighter she so despised and noticed that his hazel eyes held such an intense fire. There was no mistaking it: he was a born fighter, and damn it all if he wasn't good at what he did. She stared, no longer focused on the neck she wanted to squeeze. Something about him tugged at her, but it didn't stoke her furious flames.

Adon was the only one who had managed to defeat her, and the only one who had made her feel ashamed and worthless in what seemed like decades. She despised this man, utterly and completely loathed him. Never before had she hated someone so much in her life. Bison? Seth? Compared to this man, they were her best friends. She wanted to see the life drain from his eyes, she wanted to claw out his eyes, she wanted to mount his skull on her wall, she wanted to break every bone in his body, she wanted to… she wanted to…

It was as if someone had found the switch in Juri's brain and flicked it. She completely disregarded rational thinking as she leaned her head closer towards Adon's. An alien, animalistic craving appeared, and it quickly dictated her actions. She couldn't understand why, and she figured she never would, but she wanted this vile, despicable man. She wanted him more than any other thing in her life. No… she needed him.

Before Adon could comprehend what was happening, Juri had her lips against his. His immediate reaction was of shock, and he tried to push the woman off. Was she a woman anymore? No, she was an animal, and as wild as she was, Adon had trouble resisting her. The grip on her wrists began to lessen, and that was all Juri needed to rip her hands away. She grabbed his head and deepened her kiss, mashing their lips together as she gave off a small growl.

The violent air around them dissolved, but it was still tense. Adon spared a glance at Juri and found her eyes burning with strange energy, focused solely on him. The resistance offered gradually faded away, leaving the Muay Thai warrior to reluctantly return the kiss he was offered. This was quite a surprise for him, as never before had such a thing as being pounced, straddled, and kissed by an attacker happen in his life. The hands around his head were strong and unwavering, but they were not battling with his own pair.

In a brief moment of clarity, Adon reached up to grab Juri's sides. He pushed her away from his lips and rolled with her, switching the position. Now he was on top of her, but she retaliated by wrapping her legs around his thighs. Instead of crushing him, she urged his body to react in the way she wanted with her action. Despite her position, she had control. Adon, fighting the feeling, widened his eyes and placed a hand against Juri's throat, prompting her to let out a startled cry. His other hand was near her head, pinning one of her wrists to the floor.

Juri looked up at him and grimaced, panting from the kiss she had been ripped away from. She closed her eyes and licked her lips once, as if she enjoyed the kiss. Her cheeks took on a reddish color, and her hands were lying limp near her head. She was excited.

"W-what the hell are we doing?" Adon muttered in a hoarse, almost pained whisper.

The Korean woman under him felt his hand leave her throat and move up to caress her jaw line. Surprisingly, his rough, bandaged hands felt sensual to her, almost soft yet still strong as ever. She tilted her head up and into his hand as his fingers continued to glide along the edge of her face. Adon's hand slid down her cheek to gently grasp her chin as his thumb dragged slowly along her bottom lip. A small moan came from her throat as he did this.

Her eyes opened then and, to his utmost surprise, they were dark with lust. He was so caught up in her seductive gaze that he almost missed the sensation of her lips kissing his thumb. She gently nibbled the tip of it before Adon felt her free hand, the one he did not have pinned to the floor, grab hold of his blue and yellow shorts and tug him closer against her body. There was no mistaking that this woman, an assassin who had sought him out to kill him, wanted nothing more than to have his body against hers.

Juri removed her hand from his shorts and slowly trailed up his muscled chest, stopping to cup his chin. She lifted her head, brushing aside his hand in the process as she moved closer to his lips again.

"Round two," she said simply before she kissed him again.

And he returned it with much fervor.

* * *

><p>The two 'battled' away with much energy. In almost trance-like states, they fought for dominance even when blows were not being exchanged. Adon growled like the animal he was, nipping at whatever piece of skin he could find with his teeth. Instinct guided his every move, and his stamina allowed him to continue. Juri taunted him, insulting his skills as she writhed beneath him. Agitated, the jaguar king strived to show her just how strong he was. Her body pressed so beautifully against his, tempting his stamina.<p>

Eventually Juri pushed Adon to the floor and took control of the situation. Her hands remained on his chest as she mewed and shuddered with every touch, yet she gritted her teeth when her cries seemed to show weakness. She ordered him around all the while, dictating where his hands went and how rough they should be. When he moved in the way she wanted, she rewarded his efforts with moans of pleasure. It was the least she could do to show her appreciation for his stubbornness.

The fight ended much too quickly for them both. Those few villagers who were down in their homes at the base of the plateau raised their eyebrows when an earsplitting scream echoed throughout the area, yet they paid it no further mind. Panting, Juri fell forward against Adon, riding his chest as it gently rose and fell with every breath he took. She fixed him with a luscious, hooded gaze and smacked her lips. She lazily kissed the side of his neck as her fingers danced about on his chest.

The quiet, nagging voice that had been but a whisper in the back of Adon's mind moments earlier became a deafening roar. She was an assassin. She was an assassin and she was exposed. Exposed, covered in sweat, and lying possessively across his chest. The comprehension of what they had just done, what he had just done, and the realization that the very thing they had done was taboo came over him like a flood of icy water.

He slid out from under her, dropping her to the floor unceremoniously. Fumbling for words, he came to the realization nothing he could say would ever rectify this situation. He stood and looked down at the woman who had bedded him and felt a tinge of regret. Juri seemed to finally realize what she had done herself. She looked up at Adon for a moment before quickly averting her gaze, her eyes wide with shock. A gasp escaped her throat as she sat up, looking around for something other than her arms to cover her chest.

As she heard footsteps leaving her position, she reached for her breastplate and gave it a quick look-over. No good; it was ruined and beyond repair. Despite this, she hugged the material close to her chest like a small child would a stuffed animal. Shame crept out at her, wagging a finger at her recent deeds. She had come here to kill Adon, and instead of doing that, she done something vile with him. Seth would never let her live this down, and especially not Viper, who strived for dominance in the workplace.

The chrome puppetmaster had told her that she wasn't allowed to return until this problem between her and Adon was resolved. She had hoped that it wouldn't be necessary to think too hard about that, but she had failed to kill him like she had so desired to for days. The blush that was in her cheeks refused to leave, and Juri reluctantly accepted the reasons behind it. Even though she was fully aware of her personal failure, there was a dark, sensual thread of thought spreading through her mind: she had loved every second with him. He fought well, he tested her mettle, and she had more fun with him than she could ever imagine.

The footsteps returned, stopping just behind her. Juri felt something draped around her shoulders and looked for herself, seeing Adon's black cloak around her. The king was back in his blue and yellow kickboxing shorts, but his arrogant grin was absent. Well, that was a surprise. Perhaps he had a few redeeming characteristics, one of them being chivalry. Having seen the condition her clothes were in, he offered to give her some protection in the form of his black cloak which he so treasured. Even animals could be tamed.

Juri stared up at him for a moment, smiling. Adon did not return it. Instead, he simply shook his head at her.

"Why?" he asked, his voice soft.

"I don't know. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing," Juri replied. "Don't tell me you didn't have fun."

"Not that. Why didn't you kill me before or during?" Adon squatted down to get eye-level with her, a small scowl on his lips. "Why not even now?"

No man had ever tested her as much as this one. Yes, she hated him, but Juri found something greater that she held for him: respect. He was wild like an animal and as aggravating as an insect, but he was respectable as a man. The thought crossed her mind again, but she set it aside. Killing Adon wouldn't be as fun as letting him live. He was a delight to play with, and like any thrill seeker, Juri was always striving for more. She shrugged once before responding.

"I'll pass. I get the feeling I'll have more fun if I let you live."

"You've been toying with me since the very beginning, haven't you?" Adon replied.

Juri cocked an eyebrow, smirking.

"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. I just wanted to see if the oh-so-mighty jaguar prince could purr…"

"That's 'jaguar king', woman," Adon corrected, raising a finger to gesture at her.

"King, perhaps…" Juri mumbled, looking out to the setting sun in the distance. "You know, every great king in history has had one thing in common."

While she doubted she was right, Adon nevertheless was curious as to her statement and raised an eyebrow.

"And what would that be?"

"There's always a great queen at his side," Juri replied, leaning her head against Adon's shoulder. "Think of it… the spider queen with the king of the jaguars."

"My kingdom has only one throne," Adon challenged, allowing the woman to lean against him.

"Just what I wanted to hear…"


End file.
